Understanding Your Bill
A Guide to Read Your Bill
Contact for billing or outages
kWh/kW Usage History Chart
Shows your historical energy and demand usage.
Your Account Number
Your Service Address
Service From to Days
It shows the date your billing period started and ended, and shows how many days were in your billing cycle.
Meter Number
Number assigned by YVEA to each meter on your account. Some members have more than one meter on their account.
Prev Read
This box shows the previous ending read on your meter and the current ending read on your meter.
kWh Usage
The amount of energy used during a billing period.
Rate Schedule/Reference
Your rate class as requested by the member when service was established or upgraded.
Message Box
Look in this box for important messages from YVEA.
Electric
The rate you pay per kWh used.
System Access Cost
The System Access Cost covers some of the fixed costs that come directly from serving an individual member, regardless of how much energy is used. This item also includes your AMP service, which is the amp size rating as requested by the member when service was established or upgraded.
Transmission Demand
Demand/kW is measured by the electric meter as the highest demand in any 1-hour period during the billing period, between the hours of 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Xcel Power Cost Adjustment
The fluctuation in the cost of power that Xcel passes on to us every month, which may be passed on to members.
Net Date
Your current bill amount
Due Date
Date your bill must be paid to avoid a late fee.
Can Someone Help Me Understand My Bill?
At YVEA, we are always happy to help our members better understand their bills. If you’d like to review yours, please give us a call at (970) 879-1160 or email billing.
Understanding Your Energy Costs
How we Calculate Your Monthly Charges
If our board would propose a new rate at the end of 2026, our electric rate will consist of three parts: Electric + System Access Cost + Transmission Demand.
In addition, members who live within city limits that use electricity provided by YVEA may be charged a franchise fee by the city. This is a pass-thru charge.
Below is a sample bill of residential service.
Note: Commercial and Industrial Meter accounts’ bills will be similar; however, it is calculated at different rates.
| Charge | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Electric | The rate you pay per kWh | $82.71 (.119 x 695 kWh) |
| System Access Cost | Covers some of the fixed costs that come directly from serving an individual member, regardless of how much energy is used. This item also includes your AMP service, which is the amp size rating as requested by the member when service was established or upgraded. | $50 |
| Transmission Demand | Measured by the electric meter as the highest demand in any 1-hour period during the billing period, between the hours of 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm. 5.3 kW x $2.00) | $10.60 |
| Xcel Power Cost Adjustment | The fluctuation in the cost of power that Xcel passes on to us every month, which may be passed on to members. | $0 |
| YVEA Residential Service | Total of electric, system access cost, transmission demand, and Xcel PCA | $143.31 |
What is the Xcel Power Cost Adjustment and Transmission Demand?
As a not-for-profit distribution cooperative, YVEA buys wholesale power from other entities to distribute to members as they use it. We also use transmission lines to get electricity to our substations which distribute energy to members. YVEA doesn’t mark up the cost of this power or make profit from it.
As power costs fluctuate in the market, the PCA allows YVEA to pass the cost fluctuations to members.
This is not a rate charge on the price of electricity, but represents commodity fluctuations.
Our power provider charges us a higher rate during higher demand times on a transmission line.
Having Trouble Paying Your Bill?
There are several options. Your best one is to call our Member Services team at (970) 879-1160. They can work with you on paying your bill, advise you on our Budget Billing process, or help you connect with local agencies offering assistance. The bottom line is – don’t wait to ask for help. We want to help our members, so please call us.
Compare your usage to last billing period, or this time last year with a graphical overview of your usage and average cost per day. Want even more information? Visit your SmartHub account for daily and monthly interval data.
Demand is measured by the electric meter as the highest demand in any one-hour period during the billing period, between the hours of 5 to 9 p.m.
The amount of energy used during a billing period.
The System Access Cost covers some of the fixed costs that come directly from serving an individual member, regardless of how much energy is used. These costs include the cost of the meter, wire, and other equipment used to deliver energy to the home or business, as well as billing expenses such as bill preparation and postage. This also covers costs involved with upgrading and maintaining our infrastructure.
The amp size rating as requested by the member when service was established or upgraded.
The amount of demand used at any given moment
The fluctuation in the cost of power that Xcel passes on to us every month, which may be passed on to members.
Energy and equipment charges for any utility maintained lighting at the service address.
Depending on where you live, you may be charged a fee based on a percentage of your monthly electric usage. This is a pass-through cost, from the members within a city’s jurisdiction to that city, as a requirement of our franchise agreement with the city.
Taxes applied to your bill based on state and local sales tax rates for your service address.
Members who enroll in Operation Round Up elect to have their monthly bills rounded up to the next dollar. This donation, an average of just 50¢ per month, is awarded to non-profit organizations within our service territory.
Any credits due, rebates earned, program incentives, or refunds such as Capital Credits.
YVEA currently has policies in place which may require we collect fees from members. These fees, like connection fees or penalties, may show up on bills. Please refer to YVEA’s Rules and Regulations to learn more about our fees that may be applied.
This is an optional program for members who wish to invest additional dollars to become 100% renewable.